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Wisconsin midterms: Voter anxiety high, how to cope
The polls for the 2022 midterm elections open at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 8 – and some voters are feeling anxious.
MILWAUKEE - The polls for the 2022 midterm elections open at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 8 – and some voters are feeling anxious.
"I’m nervous. I’m nervous," said Matt Olen, a Milwaukee voter.
Aurora Health Care Dr. Munther Barakat said voters have shown an increase in stress around this time for the past ten years.
"The reason why we’re feeling anxious is because we’re feeling a loss of control and a loss of structure," said Barakat.
Dr. Munther Barakat
Political ads have been taking over voters’ social media and TV, causing voters in Milwaukee to be fed up.
Barakat said to change the channel when you see political ads, which can help manage any anxiety surrounding elections.
"Skip them because we know the nature of them is a lot of times negative, and the intent is to scare you," said Barakat.
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Perry Wilson, a Milwaukee voter, said he wants to be done with the election.
"Kind of anxious – actually want to get it over with because of all the stuff that’s on TV back and forth," said Perry Wilson, a Milwaukee voter.
If you’re still feeling uneasy, Barakat said to be cautious about who you talk and interact with around election time.
"If we’re interacting with people who are too opinionated and too strongly invested emotionally, it can bring up anxieties in ourselves," said Barakat.
Everyone has their way of coping with anxiety.
"Eat lots of food, drink lots of beer," said Olen.
"Nothing, just doing my normal routine, working," said Perry Wilson, a Milwaukee voter.
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Barakat recommends maintaining a routine as hard as possible, don’t get wrapped up in the election results.
"Watching it minute by minute is just going to feed into that anxiety. So we got to be very careful about that," said Barakat.
The last way to manage your stress ahead of Election Day is to plan ahead about where and when you are going to vote.